Anne Shirley Cuthbert

The Don of the Falcieri family was assassinated by a rival family, leaving behind his widowed wife, Livia. His younger brother, my husband Caius, took his place as Don. With the title came a duty: to secure the Falcieri bloodline by putting a child in his brother's widow. "Alessia's been barren for years. It falls to Livia to do what she couldn't. The Falcieri family cannot be without an heir." The Madre's voice dripped with scorn. Caius held me close, whispering promises. "As soon as Livia is pregnant, I swear I'll never touch her again." "Alessia, you're the only one I love." Three months, and he hasn't set foot in our bedroom. After he ignored me in front of everyone, choosing Livia time and time again, I finally left. I took what was mine and left one thing behind: a DNA test. It was my final gift to Caius.

I've stood before a priest and sworn my vows to the same man seven times. And for the seventh time, I've signed divorce papers in front of the family lawyer. At our first wedding, the youngest Capo of the Throne family held my hand and promised, "From this day forward, my life is yours and yours alone." But whenever his childhood sweetheart stirred up trouble and needed his protection, Carter's vow to me would conveniently become a sanctuary for her. "Tessa's in trouble again, Maeve. For your own safety, we have to get a divorce for now." The first time I was forced to divorce, I threatened him with the honor of our families' alliance, even vowing to expose his betrayal at a family gathering. His men dragged me out of the manor. The third time I signed the papers, I humbled myself, sneaking into the family's private club just to catch a glimpse of him from afar. By the sixth time, I had learned to quietly pack my few belongings in this house of lies, without putting up a fight. My breakdowns and desperate, undignified attempts to save us were only ever met with Carter's reliable promise to remarry me, just before another round of the divorce game he played for Tessa's sake. Until this time. After hearing Tessa was returning to New York from Italy, I didn't wait for Carter to speak. I placed the signed divorce papers in his study myself. Just like always, he casually set a date for our remarriage. But he didn't know that day was the day I would disappear from his world forever.

Tras la muerte de mi hermana, firmé un contrato matrimonial por cinco años con su esposo, Horton Falcone, un hombre de la mafia. Me convertí en la madrastra de mi sobrino de cinco años, Luca. El día de mi cumpleaños, me puse el collar con la cruz de diamantes de mi difunta hermana, sin darme cuenta de lo que representaba. Durante la cena familiar, Luca se me acercó con una copa de vino tinto y me la aventó a la cara. El vino tinto escurrió por mis mejillas; su olor penetrante me ardía en los ojos y manchaba mi vestido blanco. Echó la cabeza hacia atrás para mirarme; tenía los ojos tan crueles como los de su padre. —No creas que vas a reemplazar a mi mamá nada más porque te casaste y entraste a la familia Falcone —dijo con una sonrisa maliciosa—. Tú tienes la culpa de que esté muerta. Ojalá te hubieras muerto tú. Así podría romper tu lápida en vez de celebrar este cumpleaños estúpido. ¡Cuando sea grande, voy a tirarte al Río Hudson! El recuerdo ardía tanto como el vino, y lo único que me quedaba era un sabor a desesperanza. Me quedé mirando al niño que había criado como propio durante cinco años y sentí mucho dolor. Había pensado que podía entregarme a la familia Falcone, que podría ganármelo con mi cariño. Pero ahora, ya estaba harta. Era una familia sin amor, con un niño que me veía como su enemiga. Dejé de engañarme. Era hora de dejarlo ir. Pero después de irme, ese padre arrogante y su hijo regresaron arrastrándose hacia mí como perros para suplicar mi perdón.

During the pack's wilderness training, my adopted sister, Tessa, shoved me from a cliffside thick with wolfsbane. My Alpha, Fenrir, turned and left with Tessa feigning injury in his arms, leaving me for dead at the bottom of the ravine. I died instantly, but my soul lingered, watching everything with cold detachment. I watched as Tessa's tearful complaints swayed him into blaming me for my own disappearance. "Will Selene ever stop causing me trouble?" "She's weak and always looking for trouble. How could she possibly be fit to be our Luna?" He had no idea I was already dead at the bottom of that cliff choked with wolfsbane. Five whole days. The poison hit my bloodstream like liquid fire, racing through my veins with merciless speed. As my body decayed under the moonlight, my love for him faded with it. The title of Luna, the magnificent coronation I had dreamed of, everything I once cherished was now meaningless. The Selene who loved him was well and truly dead.

I turned a nobody from the streets into a Mafia, and I defied my papa—a man who loved me more than anything—to do it. For five years, I cast aside the honor of being a Principessa, all for the dream of a life with him. I thought the man I loved was on the verge of becoming the next Don of the Moretti family. But then my papa collapsed during his prayers in the church, suffering a massive cardiac arrest in the one place he believed was most sacred, most safe. Robin was by my side day and night, whispering encouragement. "Isabella, you have to be strong. It's the only way your papa can rest in peace." I was planning our wedding, ready to marry the man I thought I could trust with my life, when I overheard him talking to his mistress, Ava. "We finally got rid of the old bastard." "Once I marry Isabella, half the Moretti empire will be ours.." The five years I had willingly dedicated to him had been nothing more than an incubator for his twisted ambition. I wiped my tears and became the Moretti family's princess once more. I swore I would make them pay in blood. So, on the night before my wedding, I picked up my phone and dialed my brother's number. "Brother," I said. "It's time to close the net."

La nuit de notre cérémonie d'accouplement, mon Alpha Damon, et moi sommes tombés dans une embuscade tendue par une meute rivale. Lorsque j'ai rouvert les yeux, je me suis retrouvée dans le passé, avant que nous nous soyons marqués l'un l'autre. Dans ma vie précédente, nous étions de vrais compagnons, choisis par la déesse de la lune, et nous étions ensemble depuis sept ans. J'avais tout sacrifié pour l'aider à devenir l'Alpha le plus puissant, mais il avait refusé de me donner un petit. Ce n'est que plus tard que j'ai appris que le cœur de Damon avait toujours appartenu à une autre, Ariane, une louve issue d'une lignée puissante. Cette fois, j'ai décidé de le laisser poursuivre son ambition. J'ai rompu notre lien de compagnon de mes propres mains et j'ai choisi une voie complètement différente. Sept ans plus tard, il est devenu l'Alpha le plus puissant de l'alliance. Lors du sommet annuel, lui et sa bien-aimée Ariane ont annoncé leur accouplement. Lorsqu'il m'a vue seule, il a ricané. « Soline, je sais que tu es toujours amoureuse de moi. Tu m'as aimé pendant deux vies. Je suis l'Alpha le plus exceptionnel que tu n'aies jamais connu. » « Mais tu dois arrêter de te détruire pour moi. » Je l'ai ignoré et j'ai pris mon fils dans mes bras. Les yeux de Damon s'embrasaient, le contrôle de son loup s'estompant. « Tu m'as dit que tu ne porterais que mes petits ! »

When I returned from a mission, I found my Alpha mate, Wyatt, had tattooed his Beta's sigil next to our sacred mating mark. I cut my mission short, stormed back to the pack, and publicly declared my intent to Reject him. The mating mark is sacred, a symbol of two souls eternally bound. Desecrating it is the gravest insult to the Moon Goddess. Wyatt tore the rejection papers to shreds, casting them to the ground. Fury blazed in his wolfish eyes. "Over a sigil? You're tearing us apart over a meaningless symbol. Are you insane?" "Do I look like I'm kidding?" I sneered. "Fine. Let the Moon Goddess be your judge." The color drained from his face. "Faye, if you dare go through with this, I'll strip Rory of his birthright. He'll never be Alpha." "How could I be cursed with a mother like you? You're ruining my future as Alpha! I hate you!"My son, Rory, snarled from the side, his eyes burning with hatred. I looked at this father and son, who was now both strangers to me, and my heart turned to ash. My fingers tightened on my herb pouch. "The moment your father desecrated our mark," I said, my voice eerily calm, "I was already done with you."

Rocco Falcone, le Don de la famille Falcone et mon soi-disant mari, m'a raccroché au nez pour ce qui m'a semblé être la quatre-vingt-dix-neuvième fois. Après avoir reçu un diagnostic de leucémie, j'ai traîné mon corps ravagé jusqu'au cabinet de l'avocat de la famille. « Je viens pour le divorce », ai-je dit. … Quand Rocco l'a appris, il est arrivé dix minutes plus tard avec ma famille. À peine est-il entré qu'il m'a giflée. « Tu as utilisé la ligne d'urgence juste pour gâcher la grande soirée de Sofia ? Tu es devenue folle ? », a-t-il crié. Lily Marone, ma mère, m'a arraché le diagnostic des mains et l'a parcouru rapidement. Elle a laissé échapper un rire méprisant. « Tu as encore fait semblant d'être malade pour attirer l'attention ? Combien de mensonges as-tu racontés depuis que tu es enfant, Claire ? » Sofia Moretti tenait le bras de Rocco, les larmes aux yeux. « Pardonne-moi, Claire. Je n'aurais pas dû accepter ce poste. S'il te plaît, arrête de te faire du mal… et de faire du mal à Rocco. » J'ai essuyé le sang au coin de ma bouche, puis je me suis tournée de nouveau vers l'avocat. « Je n'avais plus de famille. Veuillez accélérer la procédure de divorce. J'ai besoin que tout soit réglé avant ma crémation, dans trois jours. »

I'm going to die. In the eyes of the underworld, I was a sinner. My death would be a final, cursed dishonor. But even with the Ricci family in ruins, I was still the noble Principessa. The Ricci pride in my blood would not allow my body to fall into the hands of a rival Family. Humiliation. Desecration. Photographs flaunted for all to see. I didn't much care if my body became a trophy to celebrate their victory. But if the world knew the last of the Ricci bloodline had become a plaything for our enemies, it would be a disgrace to the entire Family. After weighing my options, I dragged my broken body to the turf of my ex-boyfriend, the man I'd left seven years ago, now the Don of the Falcone family. "After I die, I need you to handle my body." He was silent for a long moment, then let out a cold laugh. "Of course. I'll sink you in the Hudson River with a tombstone tied to your feet, engraved with the name of your filthy family."

Depois que minha irmã morreu, assinei um contrato de casamento de cinco anos com o marido mafioso dela, Horton Falcone. Me tornei madrasta do meu sobrinho de cinco anos, Luca. No meu aniversário, usei o colar de cruz de diamantes da minha falecida irmã, sem perceber o que era. No jantar de família, Luca veio até mim com uma taça de vinho tinto e jogou o vinho no meu rosto. O vinho tinto escorreu pelas minhas bochechas, seu cheiro forte ardendo nos meus olhos e manchando meu vestido branco. Ele inclinou a cabeça para trás para me olhar, seus olhos tão frios e cruéis quanto os do pai. — Não pense que pode substituir minha mãe só porque se casou com a família Falcone — ele disse com um sorriso malicioso. — Você é a razão dela estar morta. Eu queria que você tivesse morrido. Assim eu poderia destruir sua lápide em vez de comemorar esse aniversário estúpido. Eu juro, quando eu crescer, a primeira coisa que vou fazer é te jogar no Rio Hudson eu mesmo! A memória ardia tão intensamente quanto o vinho, e tudo o que eu conseguia sentir era desespero. Encarei a criança que passei cinco anos criando como se fosse minha, uma dor aguda pulsando no meu peito. Eu tinha pensado que poderia me dedicar à família Falcone, que poderia conquistá-lo com meu amor. Mas agora, eu estava simplesmente exausta de tudo isso. Era uma família sem amor, uma criança que me via como sua inimiga mortal. Parei de me iludir. Era hora de deixar para lá. Mas depois que fui embora, aquele pai e filho arrogantes voltaram rastejando até mim como cachorros castigados, implorando pelo meu perdão.